


thunder only happens when it's raining

by lunarlane



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Thunder and Lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:40:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22168783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarlane/pseuds/lunarlane
Summary: There isn’t much that Gina Porter is afraid of. Stage fright? No way. Being alone? Definitely not. New schools? Not even a little. Thunder storms? Absolutely. That is the one exception. So, being home alone during one of the biggest storms Salt Lake has seen in years has Gina just a little on edge. That is, until a soaking wet Ricky Bowen shows up at her front door.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/Gina Porter
Comments: 3
Kudos: 87





	thunder only happens when it's raining

**Author's Note:**

> It has been super stormy in the area that I live in so I got inspired to write this. Posting my work makes me really nervous but I wanted to share this. I hope you guys like it! Sorry it is kind of short! Nice comments only please :)
> 
> The title is from Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

There isn’t much that Gina Porter is afraid of. Stage fright? No way. Being alone? Definitely not. New schools? Not even a little. Thunder storms? Absolutely. That is the one exception. For as long as she can remember, the booming sound of thunder and the bright flashes of lightning have been terrifying. So much so, that at the first indication of a storm, she would crawl into her mother’s bed and hide under the covers. Her mom always held her close and whispered softly to her until the storm ended or she fell asleep. Gina never ever wanted to admit fear, so other than seeking her mother’s comfort during a storm, she has always refused to tell anyone else that thunder scares her. That is, until she is alone during the biggest storm Salt Lake has seen in years. 

It has been drizzling all day. Ricky and Big Red dropped her off at home so that she didn’t have to walk all the way from school in the rain. Gina decides to have a cozy evening alone, since her mom will be working till late. The weather isn’t supposed to get bad until the middle of the night, so, she makes some hot tea and curls up in bed to watch some YouTube videos. It’s after she is finally relaxed that thunder crackles in the sky and shakes the house. Gina goes rigid. She thinks to herself, _not thunder, please not thunder_. Almost instantly, another one hits, the rain begins to fall harder, and the wind picks up. Then, the lights go out. Quickly, Gina goes for her phone for a source of light and finds that she has a text from her mom.

Mom: Hey baby. The storm started sooner than expected, but I am stuck at work till late still. I’m safe though and it’s probably best for me not to drive until it dies down a little. I hope you are ok. Love you!

Disappointment and fear washes over her. It is practically Gina’s worst nightmare. She is completely alone, in a dark house, while it storms outside. Shakily, she pulls herself out of bed and lights all of the candles she can find. It helps, but Gina still finds herself jumping every single time that the thunder claps. She quickly learns that there is not much she can do during a power outage. She can’t bake or crochet and she definitely can’t be on her phone, since the last thing she wants is for it to die. All she can do is sit and wait it out.

Then, there is banging on the front door. _This is it, this is how I die_ , Gina thinks. She grabs a knife from the kitchen on the way to the front door. She slowly inches closer to the peephole, unsure and afraid of what is on the other side. After a quick look, she rushes to open the door for a soaking wet Ricky.

“Ricky, what are you doing here?” She asks.

“Why do you have a knife?” Ricky asks, ignoring Gina’s question.

Gina opens the door wider and attempts to hide the knife behind her back, her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. “That’s not important. Come inside before you catch a cold. Seriously though, did you walk here?”

Stepping inside, Ricky admits, “Yeah, I did. I was home alone and our power went out and I got bored. I figured you probably were alone, too, so I decided to come here. It was too hard to skate in the rain so I walked. Now can I know why you had a knife?”

“Absolutely not. Now, stay here while I go get a towel and some new clothes. I can’t let you stay like that.”

So, Gina hurries to the bathroom to grab a towel and searches for some clothes for Ricky. He is lucky she likes her sweatpants oversized. Bringing them back to him, she points him towards the bathroom and he goes to change. It is at this point that Gina begins to panic. She hasn’t actually had a friend over to her house since she was little. This is a whole new territory for her.

The spiraling ends with the bathroom door opening and Ricky stepping out. She would never admit it, but with his disheveled hair and comfy clothes, he looks really cute.

“These sweatpants are really surprisingly comfy. I am honestly thinking about stealing them from you. Also, I totally forgot I let you borrow this sweatshirt, and since you kept it from me, I think that it is only fair that I get to keep the sweatpants,” Ricky grins. This makes Gina laugh and she can only shake her head in response. “I’m serious, Gi. I want them.”

Trying to hide her smile, Gina responds, “Sorry Bowen, no way. Plus, I totally meant to give the sweatshirt back, it was just way too cozy.”

Suddenly, thunder rattles the walls. Having forgotten about the storm momentarily, Gina jumps. Her cheeks quickly turn pink and she waits for Ricky to start laughing at her and teasing her. He never does.

“Are you afraid of thunderstorms?” he asks, softly and kindly.

“No. No, of course not. Are you?” She attempts to play it off. It is then that thunder booms again and makes her jump once more. Although she can’t meet Ricky’s eye, she can feel his gaze upon her. Gina wishes for the ground to swallow her whole.

“I’m not anymore, but I used to be…” He trails off in thought. “Hey, I have an idea! We are going to need blankets. Lots of blankets and a couple of pillows. Hypothetically speaking, if we were to build a fort, where should we build it? Your room or the living room?”

Gina’s looks up at him with curiosity. “Uhh I guess the living room? Since it is bigger. Why are we building a fort exactly?”

“I never said that we are! It’s all hypothetical. Where do you keep all of your extra sheets and blankets and stuff?”

The two of them go running through the house, grabbing blankets, pillows, sheets, and whatever else they can find that might be useful. After twenty minutes and a couple of collapsed forts latter, the living room has been transformed. Both of them step back to admire their hard work.

Leaning down to lift the door, Ricky says, “ladies first!” and motions for Gina to go inside. He follows behind her, and they find themselves face to face in a fort that seemed much bigger on the outside. Despite the fact that it is a little crowded, it is actually quite cozy. The only source of light is some battery powered fairy lights from Gina’s room that could die at any moment and leave them in the dark. Still, neither of them is worried.

“Now can you tell me why we built a fort?” Gina asks.

“This is what my dad and I would do when I was little and I got scared. I don’t know, maybe it was kind of a silly idea, but I thought it might help you like it did for me. Cause let's face it, Gi, you are totally scared of storms.”

She laughs and Ricky’s heart melts just a little bit at the sound. “Yeah, okay, I admit it. I’m terrified of them. Always have been, always will be.”

“You know there is nothing wrong with that, right? Being afraid isn’t something to be ashamed of.”

“I guess you’re right. It just seems so silly, the fact that thunder is the one thing that I am actually scared of.” Gina sighs. 

In one quick breath, Ricky mutters, “I’m terrified of spiders.”

She can’t even bring herself to laugh or tease him, after all he didn’t do that to her. Gina finds herself overwhelmed by his kindness. Ricky not only walked here in the pouring rain to see her (he claimed it was because he was bored, but they both know better) and did the one thing he knew to make her feel better. Looking at him, with his curls that were drying frizzy and sitting more wildly than ever, Gina learns that there is one thing that scares her more than thunder ever could, how Ricky Bowen makes her feel. It is like the wind has been knocked out of her.

“Thank you,” She whispers.

This makes him laugh. “Thank you? What are you thanking me for? Being afraid of spiders?”

“No, silly. Thank you for doing all of this. I mean it, Ricky, this was all so sweet of you. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up. It had only been half an hour since the storm started and I was already a wreck.”

“Of course, Gi. Anything for you.”

Tilting her head slightly, Gina asks, “In that case, is there any way you can do one more thing for me?”

“Absolutely. What is it?” Ricky responds, almost knowingly, almost as if he is anticipating what comes next.

“Kiss me?”

“I was hoping you would say that.”

He closes the space between them. The kiss is soft, sweet, and everything both of them had hoped it would be. After a few seconds, they pull apart, both blushing and unable to wipe the smile off of their faces.

“You know, I think I like it in here,” Gina says.

“Yeah, me too,” Ricky agrees.

And with that the storm is long forgotten and Gina knows that her fear of thunder is completely gone, because any time the booming starts in the sky, she will only be reminded of this moment, here, with Ricky.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far, thank you! It really means so much to me. I edit my own work so I apologize for any errors or mistakes!


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